CALL FOR PROPOSALS EACEA 04/2017 Erasmus+ Programme KA … · i) quality assurance, including...

CALL FOR PROPOSALS– EACEA 04/2017

Erasmus+ Programme

KA 2 – Cooperation for Innovation and Exchange of Good Practices

Sector Skills Alliances

APPLICANTS' GUIDELINES

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1. INTRODUCTION – BACKGROUND

This call for proposals is based on the Regulation (EU) 1288 /2013 establishing Erasmus+,

the Union programme for education, training, youth and sport for the period 2014 to 2020.

On the basis of the Regulation, and in particular Key Action 2 "Cooperation for Innovation

and Exchange of Good Practices" (as referred to in Article 6 (1) (b) and further set forth in

Article 8 (1) (b)), the European Commission (‘the Commission’) in cooperation with the

Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (the ‘Agency’) is inviting the

submission of proposals concerning the establishment or development of Sector Skills

Alliances (SSA). The Agency has been entrusted by the Commission with the management of

this Call for proposals1 .

Article 8 (1) (b) foresees support to partnerships in the form of “sector skills alliances

between education and training providers and the world of work aimed at promoting

employability, contributing to the creation of new sector-specific or cross-sectoral curricula,

developing innovative methods of vocational teaching and training and putting the Union

transparency and recognition tools into practice”.

The action Sector Skills Alliances will be an important instrument to support the

implementation of the New Skills Agenda for Europe2. The action will contribute to the

improvement of quality and relevance of Europe's Vocational Education and Training (VET)

systems as outlined in the 2015 ET2020 Joint Report3, and in the 2015 Riga conclusions

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agreeing on a new set of medium-term deliverables.

The New Skills Agenda for Europe adopted on 10 June 2016 has launched the "Blueprint for

Sectoral Cooperation on Skills" to deliver sector-specific skills solutions, facilitate the

mobilisation and coordination of key players, stimulate investment and encourage a more

strategic use of EU and national funding opportunities. It is aimed at translating a sectoral

policy into a comprehensive skills strategy in line with the integrated methodology defined at

EU level for the Blueprint. The Blueprint builds on previous work carried out by the

European Commission with stakeholders on fighting skills mismatches at sectoral level,

namely the Sector Skills Councils5 and the Erasmus+ Sector Skills Alliances6.

The 'Riga Conclusions' adopted at the meeting of Ministers in charge of VET, the European

Social Partners and the European Commission on 22 June 2015 include five medium-term

deliverables (MTD) to be focused on for the period 2015-2020. It also calls on the

Commission to support the implementation of the MTD in the participating countries, by

addressing common EU level sector specific skills challenges and support policy reforms in

VET through funding opportunities under the European Structural and Investment Funds

(ESIF) and Erasmus+.

1 The 2017 Annual Work Programme for the implementation of “Erasmus+”: the Union Programme for Education,

Training, Youth and Sport 2 http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1223&langId=en 3 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52015XG1215(02)&from=EN 4 http://ec.europa.eu/education/policy/vocational-policy/doc/2015-riga-conclusions_en.pdf 5 Financed by the EU Programme for Employment and Social Inclusion (EaSI) to anticipate the skills needs in specific

sectors. See: http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=784 . 6 Projects financed by Erasmus+. See: https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/actions/key-action-2-cooperation-for-

innovation-and-exchange-good-practices/sector-skills-alliances_en

http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1223&langId=en

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52015XG1215(02)&from=EN

http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=784

https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/actions/key-action-2-cooperation-for-innovation-and-exchange-good-practices/sector-skills-alliances_en

https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/actions/key-action-2-cooperation-for-innovation-and-exchange-good-practices/sector-skills-alliances_en

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2. OBJECTIVES AND THEMES

2.1. Objectives

Sector Skills Alliances aim at tackling skills gaps with regard to one or more occupational

profiles in a specific sector. They do so by identifying existing or emerging sector specific

labour market needs (demand side), and by enhancing the responsiveness of initial and

continuing VET systems, at all levels, to the labour market needs (supply side). Drawing on

evidence regarding skills needs, Sector Skills Alliances support the design and delivery of

transnational vocational training content, as well as teaching and training methodologies for

European professional core profiles.

Sector Skills Alliances for strategic sectoral cooperation on skills identify and develop

concrete actions to match demand and supply of skills to support the overall sector specific

growth strategy.

2.2. Themes and specific objectives

Projects can achieve these objectives by applying to one of the following "Lots":

Lot 1 - Sector Skills Alliances for skills needs identification

Aimed at identifying and providing detailed evidence on skills needs, and gaps in a given

specific economic sector. This would make it possible to address such gaps through

training provision, whether it be VET-based or any other education and training sector.

The identification and definition of future skills needs should be supported by research on

labour market needs in the sector. The skills needs should be identified for the relevant

occupation profiles of the sector, drawing on, where available, the classification of

European Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations (ESCO). Where

appropriate, they should make use on skills intelligence gathered by "European Sector

Skills Councils" and already existing sector skills studies, including results of previous

Sector Skills Alliances. The EU Skills Panorama provides a wealth of skills intelligence,

analyses and studies on professions (occupations) and sectors:

http://skillspanorama.cedefop.europa.eu/en

Collaboration between public and private actors on the labour market (such as labour

ministries, social partners, training and education providers, labour market intelligence

entities, companies including SME’s, chambers of commerce, public and private

employment services and national statistics offices) should be organised to identify and

anticipate persistent skills shortages and mismatches at sectoral level for a set of

occupational profiles. It is important to maximise synergies with other sectoral initiatives.

Lot 2 - Sector Skills Alliances for design and delivery of VET

Aimed at responding to identified skills gaps and needs in a specific economic sector, by

developing curricula, as well as teaching and training delivery methodologies. The

curricula and training methodologies and should include a strong work-based learning

component, and support trans-national learner mobility.

Partners will have to interpret existing research evidence on profession-specific skills

needs when implementing vocational education and training or designing qualification

standards based on occupational profiles, drawing, where available on ESCO. Where

appropriate, they should base themselves on skills intelligence gathered by "European

Sector Skills Councils" and already existing sector skills studies, including results of

previous Sector Skills Alliances. The EU Skills Panorama provides a wealth of skills

intelligence, analyses and studies on professions (occupations) and sectors:

http://skillspanorama.cedefop.europa.eu/en .



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The design and delivery of vocational curricula should follow the following key principles:

i) quality assurance, including effective learner tracking systems and feedback loops, ii)

curricula and qualifications that are learning outcome oriented, iii) provision which is

modular in all its phases, iv) include significant work-based learning periods, v) embeds

international experience (learner as well as teacher and trainer mobility).

The Alliance partners should demonstrate in the proposal what measures they will take in

the countries and in the sector covered for the formal recognition of the new or adapted

vocational curricula and qualifications and how they will pursue the project deliverables

after EU funding has ended. Sector Skills Alliances are expected to carry out the

proposed activities in a way that maximises the impact on one, or several related,

occupations in a given sector.

Lot 3 - Sector Skills Alliances for implementing a new strategic approach

(“Blueprint”) to sectoral cooperation on skills

The Blueprint for Sectoral Cooperation on Skills is one of the ten actions in the New Skills

Agenda for Europe (see description on Europa webpage7). It aims to improve skills

intelligence and to provide a clear strategy and instruments to address skills shortages in

specific economic sectors. It will be piloted in six sectors8: automotive, defence, maritime

technology, space geo information, textile-clothing-leather-footwear and tourism.

The Alliances under Lot 3 will support its implementation by developing sectoral skills

strategies. A sectoral strategy has to lead to systemic and structural impact on reducing

skills shortages as well as ensuring appropriate quality and levels of skills to support

growth, innovation and competitiveness in the sector. It must include a clear set of

activities, milestones and well-defined outputs with the goal to match demand and supply

of skills to support the overall sector specific growth strategy.

The sectoral skills strategy will contribute to increase the talent pool and support the

adaptation of the workforce to the requirements of industrial and market developments in

the sector, thus contributing to its long-term competitiveness. Particular attention will be

paid to new technological developments (e.g. digital and key enabling technologies).

The objectives of Lot 1 (forecasting skills demand) and Lot 2 (responding to identified

skills needs through design and delivery of VET) have to be included in the sectoral skills

strategy.

The partners are required to set up an EU level Alliance for a sector for cooperation on

skills and the implementation of concrete demand-driven actions. The Alliance will be

industry-led and include other relevant stakeholders, such as education and training

providers, social partners, clusters and networks, research institutes, statistical bodies,

employment services, and qualification authorities (whenever possible).

2.3. Activities to be carried out and outputs expected

The proposal shall cover a coherent and comprehensive set of activities and outputs as set out

below for each Lot and as relevant for the sector concerned.

For all three Lots, a particular focus must be given to digital skills as they are increasingly

important in all job profiles across the entire labour market. This should be done in synergy

with the new Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition and efforts to promote skills for key enabling

7 http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/newsroom/cf/itemdetail.cfm?item_id=8848

8 Sectors are defined by the Eurostat NACE – Statistical classification of economic activities in the European Union.

http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/newsroom/cf/itemdetail.cfm?item_id=8848

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technologies9 (KETs). In addition, the transition to a circular economy needs to be

supported by changes to qualifications and national curricula to meet emerging professional

needs for “green skills”.

LOT 1: SECTOR SKILLS ALLIANCES FOR SKILLS NEEDS IDENTIFICATION

Defining skills and training provision needs in a given specific economic sector:

gathering and interpreting evidence of skills needs on the labour market in a given

economic sector, including by drawing on the Skills Panorama (e.g. Cedefop skills

forecasts, various survey data, analytical highlights) and, where relevant, on the work of

European Sector Skills Councils or previous Sector Skills Alliances;

analysing the trends and challenges that shape the sector and its labour market with

focus on drivers of change that may influence skills demand and supply in the sector

(e.g. automation, demography);

based on the above activities, providing a detailed assessment of the current and

anticipated skills shortages, gaps and mismatches in the sector (both job specific and

soft skills), as well as the need for the review of occupational profiles, indicating the

priority in which they should be addressed, on the basis inter alia of their impact on

growth and competiveness potential in the sector and on employment (e.g. likely job

loss, hard-to-fill vacancies);

analysing the potential impact of such skills needs on growth and employment in the

sector;

analysing major trends affecting closely interrelated sectors, to capture potential

spill-over effects;

identifying needs in terms of training provision, drawing on, where available, the

occupational profiles of the classification of ESCO;

delivering all relevant EU and/or country level qualitative evidence and quantitative

data on skills, employment and economic performance of the sector in an electronic

form, in linked open data format, so that it can feed into the Skills Panorama

(http://skillspanorama.cedefop.europa.eu/en)10

.

LOT 2: SECTOR SKILLS ALLIANCES FOR DESIGN AND DELIVERY OF VET

Designing trans-national sector-wide vocational curricula:

on the basis of identified skills needs for specific occupation profiles in a given

economic sector, identify and design VET curricula or qualification standards (in line

with EQF and informed by ESCO), to respond to those needs;

translating skill needs into innovative, learning outcome-oriented modular VET

programmes and/or qualifications (applying ECVET for designing qualifications

composed of units of learning outcomes), to allow for transparency and comparability,

taking also into account needs of validation of prior learning (e.g. non-formal or

informal);

9 https://ec.europa.eu/growth/industry/key-enabling-technologies/eu-actions_en#kets_skills 10 This should be done using Cedefop’s ‘Practical framework for including sectoral skills evidence in the Skills Panorama’.

http://skillspanorama.cedefop.europa.eu/en/useful_resources/including-sectoral-skills-evidence-skills-panorama-practical-

framework

http://skillspanorama.cedefop.europa.eu/en/useful_resources/including-sectoral-skills-evidence-skills-panorama-practical-framework


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applying quality management to the new training content either by applying the quality

assurance principles of EQAVET or by using already existing quality assurance systems

which, however, should be in line with EQAVET;

integrating periods of work-based learning into the new training content, including

opportunities to apply knowledge in practical "real life" workplace situations, and

embedding trans-national learning experience whenever possible;

designing VET provision focusing both on job specific skills as well as on key

competences11

, soft skills, and STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and

mathematics), while providing effective opportunities to acquire or develop those

competences, particularly in work-related training contexts;

promoting relevant VET sectoral qualifications (including trans-national joint

programmes awarded by more than one VET provider), and support agreement for their

recognition by implementing ECVET principles, and referencing qualifications to NQFs

and the EQF as well as other relevant European tools and instruments in the sector

concerned;

increasing recognition of qualifications at European and national level within a sector,

by promoting and agreeing on sectoral qualifications, facilitating cross-border

certification, and building mutual trust, contributing to increased learner and

professional mobility in the sector;

identifying, documenting and promoting successful skills or qualifications related

projects and good practices, as well as those fostering multi-stakeholder partnerships,

including from other sectors or from outside Europe and make detailed proposals to

replicate or scale them up, where relevant;

where relevant, ensure that results of the project are available in open data format so

that they could feed into the Skills Panorama and ESCO.

Delivering vocational curricula:

identifying the most appropriate delivery methodologies for the curricula, using

innovative approaches to teaching and learning, as well as a strategic and integrated use

of ICTs (e.g. blended learning, simulators, etc.), and open educational resources (e.g.

MOOC´s12

, and VOOC´s13

);

identifying ways to implement innovative VET teaching and learning methods to

respond to the needs of specific target groups of learners; and through the provision of

work-based learning;

developing actions to facilitate inter-generational transfer of knowledge within VET;

describing the ways on how assessment methodologies and procedures can embed all

forms of learning, including work-based learning and facilitate the validation of skills

and competences acquired prior to training;

11

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32006H0962&from=EN 12

A MOOC is a Massive Open Online Course aimed at unlimited participation and open access via the web. In

addition to traditional course materials such as filmed lectures, readings, and problem sets, many MOOCs

provide interactive user forums to support community interactions among students, professors, and teaching

assistants. 13

A VOOC is a “Vocational Open Online Course”. It is an online course aimed at unlimited participation and

open access via the web. In addition to traditional course materials such as filmed lectures, readings, and

problem sets, VOOC´s may provide interactive user forums to support community interactions among

students, professors, and teaching assistants. It is a form of Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), but

focused on Vocational training tacking into account the VET teaching and learning particularities.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wide_Web

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_set

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teaching_assistant


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identifying adequate measures to track learners after completing their training in order

to provide "feedback loops"14 . These tracking and feedback systems can build on

information from companies, learners/employees, as well as public information

resources and labour market stakeholders;

proposing the appropriate measures for the formal recognition of the new or adapted

vocational curricula and qualifications in participating countries and in the sector(s)

covered;

planning the progressive roll-out of project deliverables leading to systemic impact.

LOT 3: SECTOR SKILLS ALLIANCES FOR IMPLEMENTING A NEW STRATEGIC

APPROACH (BLUEPRINT) TO SECTORAL COOPERATION ON SKILLS:

Sector Skills Alliances under this Lot shall set up sustainable cooperation on skills

development between key industry stakeholders in a given sector, education and training

providers, and public authorities.

The alliances shall develop a sectoral skills strategy to support the objectives of the

established growth strategy for the sector. This strategy should be the first key deliverable

of the project, identifying concrete actions and indicating clear set of activities, milestones

and well-defined outputs, to suggest how to match demand and supply of skills.

The strategy should detail how major trends, such as global, societal, and technological

developments in the sector, are likely to affect jobs and skills needs. It should describe the

expected timeline and give particular attention to the impact of digital and key enabling

technologies.

Alliances in this Lot cover activities of Lot 1 (as appropriate for the sector) and Lot 2. In

particular, they have to cover the following activities:

providing a detailed assessment of the current and anticipated skills shortages, gaps and

mismatches in the sector, as well as the need for the review of occupational profiles,

indicating the priority in which they should be addressed, on the basis inter alia of their

impact on growth and competiveness potential in the sector and on employment (e.g.

likely job loss, hard-to-fill vacancies);

developing a common methodology for assessing the current situation and anticipating

future needs as well as monitoring (on a yearly basis) progress and the evolution of the

demand and supply of skills based on credible foresight scenarios;

identifying occupational profiles that need to be revised or created and their

corresponding skill needs as well as the required proficiency level, drawing on, where

available, the occupational profiles in ESCO and existing competence frameworks15

;

where relevant, the development of sectoral competence frameworks may be

considered;

identifying, describing and indicating priorities for the review or the establishment of

new qualifications on the basis of the relevant occupational profiles;

fostering the development of concrete solutions in VET provision (including higher

VET) as well as business-education-research partnerships;

14

See Medium-term deliverable 2 (MTD2), in 2015 Riga Conclusions: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/repository/education/policy/vocational-policy/doc/2015-riga-

conclusions_en.pdf 15

e.g. the Digital Competence Framework for Citizens, the Entrepreneurship Competence Framework and the

European e-Competence Framework (e-CF).

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/repository/education/policy/vocational-policy/doc/2015-riga-conclusions_en.pdf

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/repository/education/policy/vocational-policy/doc/2015-riga-conclusions_en.pdf

https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/digcomp

https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/publication/eur-scientific-and-technical-research-reports/entrecomp-entrepreneurship-competence-framework

http://www.ecompetences.eu/

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developing concrete solutions to promote mobility of vocational students, jobseekers

and trainees across Europe in the sector, capitalising on the use of existing EU tools

(e.g. Erasmus+, EURES, Drop'Pin, European Alliance for Apprenticeships);

developing actions to promote the attractiveness of the sector as a career choice, in

particular among the young, while also aiming for a gender balance in the sector;

designing an industry-led long term action plan for the progressive roll-out of project

deliverables after the project has finished. This plan shall be based on sustained

partnerships between education and training providers and key industry stakeholders at

the appropriate level. It should include the identification of appropriate governance

structures, as well as plans for scalability and financial sustainability. It should also

ensure the appropriate visibility and wide dissemination of the work of the Alliance,

including at EU and national political level and include details on how the roll-out will

be implemented at national and/or regional levels with relevant governmental and

sectoral authorities.

The action plan shall also indicate how EU funding opportunities (e.g. European

Structural Funds, European Fund for Strategic Investment, Erasmus+, COSME, sectoral

programmes), as well as national and regional funding can support skills strategies.

This should take into account national and regional smart specialisation strategies.

Models could be developed based on good examples to promote focussed use of such

funding, including up-skilling employees;

delivering all relevant EU and/or country level qualitative evidence and quantitative

data according to linked open data format 16

.

The following information has to be taken into account for each of the six pilot sectors:

Automotive

To ensure complementarity and synergies, activities must be compatible with existing evidence

for the sector, including the actions and orientations provided by:

Final report of European Skill Council of Automotive Industry.

The sectorial competitiveness strategy - outcome of GEAR 2030 process17

.

Defence



European Defence Action Plan (foreseen adoption in December 2016).

European Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy, June 2016.

Communication "Towards a More Competitive and Efficient Defence and Security

Sector", COM (2013)542.

Implementation Roadmap for the Communication, COM(2014)387.

December 2013 European Council Conclusions.

Study on Skills and Competences in Defence, 2015.

All other actions relevant to defence-related skills.

Maritime

technology



The results of the Sector Skills Council on Maritime Technology18

.

The Communication on Innovation in the Blue economy: realising the potential of our

seas and oceans for jobs and growth19

.

16 This should be done using Cedefop’s ‘Practical framework for including sectoral skills evidence in the Skills Panorama’.

http://skillspanorama.cedefop.europa.eu/en/useful_resources/including-sectoral-skills-evidence-skills-panorama-practical-

framework

17 https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/automotive/policy-strategy_en

18 http://www.easy-content.be/Documents/Open.aspx?guid={EFFE02BD-34A7-47EB-826E-46F035DE32C9}

19 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=COM:2014:254:REV1&from=EN

https://europa.eu/globalstrategy/sites/globalstrategy/files/eugs_review_web.pdf

http://ec.europa.eu/DocsRoom/documents/11062/attachments/1/translations


http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52013DC0542


http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52014DC0387

http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/140245.pdf

https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/defence/industrial-policy/skills_en



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The call for proposals "Blue Careers in Europe"20

.

Space geo

information



Space Strategy for Europe (under finalisation and to be adopted the 26 October 2016).

Textile-

clothing-

leather-

footwear



Results of the Textile, Clothing Leather and Footwear European Skills Council.

Results of ESCO Reference Group Manufacturing of textile, apparel, leather, footwear

and other related products.

Deliverables of projects carried out in textile-clothing-leather-footwear sector under

European Skills Alliance, Knowledge Alliance, Leonardo da Vinci, etc.

Tourism



Study “Mapping and Performance check of the supply side of tourism education and

training”21

.

Study “Mapping the skills needs to improve the accessibility and safety of tourism

services for disabled people and people with special needs”22

.

The results of the informal Consultation on how to better target EU initiatives and

funding opportunities for developing skills in the tourism sector23

.

The follow-up to the Call for proposals: "Enhancing quality jobs, apprenticeships and

traineeships in the tourism sector across Europe" published on 5 April 2016 24

.

20 https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/call-proposals-blue-careers-europe 21 http://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/tourism/support-business/skills/index_en.htm 22 http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/improving-information-on-accessible-tourism-for-disabled-people-pbNB6004587/ 23 https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/tourism/support-business/skills_en 24 https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/tourism/support-business/skills_en

https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/call-proposals-blue-careers-europe

http://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/tourism/support-business/skills/index_en.htm

http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/improving-information-on-accessible-tourism-for-disabled-people-pbNB6004587/

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3. TIMETABLE

Stages

Indicative timetable

a) Publication of the call 24/01/2017

b) Deadline for submitting applications 02/05/2017

12:00 noon CET

c) Evaluation period 02/05/2017 to 21/07/2017

d) Information to applicants September 2017

e) Signature of grant agreement September to November

2017

f) Starting date of the action 01/12/2017 to 31/01/2018

4. BUDGET AVAILABLE

The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of projects is estimated at €28 million,

intricately distributed among Lots, as follows:

Lot

number

Indicative total

amount (EUR)

Indicative number

of grant

agreements

Maximum total amount

per project (EUR)

Project

duration

1 1,000,000 3 330.000 2 years

500.000 3 years

2 3,000,000 4 700.000 2 years

1.000.000 3 years

3 24,000,000 6 4.000.000 4 years

The maximum EU co-financing rate will be 80%.

For Lot 3, only 1 proposal per pilot sector can be selected.

Within the limits of the budget available, grants will be awarded to those projects which

respond to the qualitative criteria in the best way.

The Agency reserves the right not to distribute all funds available.

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5. ADMISSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Applications shall comply with the following requirements:

they must be sent no later than the deadline for submitting applications referred to in

section 3 of the present call for proposals;

they must be submitted in writing exclusively using the correct official online

application form;

they must be drafted in one of the EU official languages.

Please note that only applications submitted online using the e-form will be considered.

The application form must be accompanied by a balanced budget and all the other documents

referred to in the application form.

Failure to comply with those requirements will lead to the rejection of the application.

In order to submit an application, beneficiaries and affiliated entities must provide their

Participant Identification Code (PIC) in the application form. The PIC can be obtained by

registering the organisation in the Unique Registration Facility (URF) hosted in the

Education, Audiovisual, Culture, Citizenship and Volunteering Participant Portal. The Unique

Registration Facility is a tool shared by other services of the European Commission. If an

applicant, a partner or affiliated entity already has a PIC that has been used for other

programmes (for example the Research programmes), the same PIC is valid for the present

call for proposals.

The Participant Portal allows beneficiaries and affiliated entities, to upload or update the

information related to their legal status and attach the requested legal and financial

documents.

See section 14.2 for more information.

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6. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Applications which comply with the following criteria, will be subject of an in-depth

evaluation.

Lot 1- Sector Skills Alliances for skills needs identification

Eligible

participating

organisations

The following organisations and their affiliated entities25

are eligible to take part in a Lot 1

Alliance. They can be public or private organisations established in a Programme Country

(see section 6.3).

European and/or national social partners;

labour ministries or associated bodies (agencies or councils);

public or private employment services;

labour market research institutes, national statistics offices;

public or private, small, medium or large enterprises (including social enterprises);

economic development agencies;

chambers of commerce, of industry or of labour;

sectoral or professional associations of employers or employees; chambers of skilled

crafts;

European or national sectoral umbrella organisations;

training or education providers at local, regional or national level;

sector-based research institutes;

bodies providing career guidance, professional counselling and information services;

public authorities responsible for education and training at regional or national level.

Who can

apply?

Any participating organisation established in a Programme Country can apply. The applicant

organisation submits the project proposal on behalf of all participating organisations involved

in the project.

Number and

profile of

participating

organisations

The Sector Skills Alliance must cover at least 12 Programme Countries and include at least

2 organisations, out of which at least 1 represents the industry and at least 1 represents

education and training providers.

The geographical coverage can be ensured by the participation of national organisations

and/or by European-wide umbrella organisations26

or European social partners. The capacity

of covering more than one country of the Alliance by European wide organisations or social

partners must be proven at the moment of application. See section 6.2 for definitions of roles

of participating organisations.

Duration of

project

2 or 3 years. The duration has to be chosen at application stage, based on the objective of the

project and on the type of activities planned over time.

25 Affiliated entities: legal entities having a legal or capital link with beneficiaries, which is neither limited to the action nor established for the sole purpose of its implementation may take

part in the action as affiliated entities.

26 A European umbrella organisation is an association of (often related, sector-specific) several national member organisations that coordinates their activities, promotes a common

purpose and works to protect their shared interests at European level.

-13-

Lot 2 - Sector Skills Alliances for design and delivery of VET

Eligible

participating

organisations


are eligible to take part in a

Lot 2 Alliance. They can be public or private organisations established in a Programme

Country (see section 6.3).

public or private enterprises (including social enterprises) in particular those with

an own training department, those providing apprenticeships, and those providing

shared training (collaborative training);

EU or national organisations representing industry, small and medium-sized

enterprises, relevant sectoral organisations;

public or private VET providers, including inter-company training centres and

higher education institutions providing VET;

networks of VET providers and European or national organisations representing

them;

Education and Training authorities at regional or national level, and Ministries;

organisations or networks – at EU or national level – representing social partners,

industry, sectoral organisations, professions and education and training

stakeholders, including youth organisations;

chambers of commerce, of industry, of skilled crafts or of labour, and other

intermediary bodies;

sector skills councils;

economic development agencies, statistical bodies and research institutes;

cultural and/or creative bodies;

bodies providing career guidance, professional counselling, information services

and employment services;

accreditation, certification, recognition or qualification bodies (bodies with

“regulatory function”).

Who can

apply?

Any participating organisation established in a Programme Country can apply. The

applicant organisation submits the project proposal on behalf of all participating

organisations involved in the project.

Number and

profile of

participating

organisations

The Sector Skills Alliance must cover at least 4 Programme Countries and include at

least 8 organisations, out of which at least 3 are enterprises, industry or sector

representatives (e.g. chambers or trade associations), and at least 3 are education

and training providers. See section 6.2 for definitions of roles of participating

organisations.

Duration of

project

2 or 3 years. The duration has to be chosen at application stage, based on the objective

of the project and on the type of activities planned over time.



-14-

Lot 3 - Sector Skills Alliances for implementing a new strategic approach (Blueprint) to

sectoral cooperation on skills

Eligible

participating

organisations


are eligible to take part in a

Lot 3 Alliance. They can be public or private organisations established in a Programme

Country (see section 6.3).

public or private enterprises active in the selected pilot sectors especially those

with an own training department, those providing apprenticeships, and those

providing shared training (collaborative training);

EU or national organisations representing industry, small and medium-sized

enterprises, relevant sectoral organisations;

public or private education or training providers, including training centres and

higher education institutions (and military academies of the defence sector);

networks of education or training providers and European or national organisations

representing them;

authorities responsible for education and training or employment, at regional or

national level, and related Ministries;

organisations or networks – at EU or national level – representing social partners,

industry, sectoral organisations, professions and education and training

stakeholders, including youth organisations;

chambers of commerce, of industry, of labour and other relevant sectoral

intermediary bodies;

sector skills councils;

economic development agencies, statistical bodies and research institutes;

bodies providing career guidance, professional counselling, information services

and employment services;

accreditation, certification, recognition or qualification bodies (bodies with

“regulatory function”).

bodies representing relevant authorities at regional and national level.

Who can

apply?

Any participating organisation established in a Programme Country can apply. The

applicant organisation submits the project proposal on behalf of all participating

organisations involved in the project.

Number and

profile of

participating

organisations

The Sector Skills Alliance must cover at least 6 Programme Countries and include at

least 12 organisations, out of which at least 5 are enterprises, industry or sector

representatives (e.g. chambers or trade associations), and at least 5 are education

and training providers. See section 6.2 for definitions of roles of participating

organisations.

Duration of

project 4 years.



-15-

6.1. Which specific sectors can apply to each of the Lots?

An organisation can be involved as applicant in several proposals and Lots, as long as the

proposals address different sectors. For example, a Chamber or VET provider may have

expertise in more than one sector, and apply for more than one project or Lot in different

sectors.

Lot 3 is exclusively reserved for the following six sub-sectors:

1. Automotive, where an Alliance must include at least the following sub-sectors:

i. vehicle production

ii. automotive suppliers

iii. automotive retail and aftermarket.

2. Defence, where an Alliance must include at least three out of the four following

domains:

i. land

ii. air

iii. naval

iv. space.

3. Maritime technology29

, where an Alliance must include at least the following areas:

i. traditional sectors (shipbuilding, oil & gas, etc.);

ii. emerging sectors (offshore wind, ocean energy, etc.);

iii. ocean literacy

Other blue economy sectors (i.e. aquaculture, marine biotechnology, monitoring &

observation, etc.) shall be included if considered relevant.

4. Space geo information30

, where an Alliance must include at least three out of the

following areas:

i. Integrated applications;

ii. Remote sensing;

iii. Smart cities;

iv. Climate Change societal challenges;

v. Raw materials, health and food issues monitoring.

5. Textile-clothing-leather-footwear, where an Alliance must include regions/countries

where textile, clothing, leather and footwear sectors play an important role in

manufacturing (a high share of employment or added value do the economy).

6. Tourism, where an Alliance must cover all of the following areas:

i. hospitality

ii. food and beverage

iii. travel agents

iv. attractions and recreation.

29

The maritime technology industry encompasses all the enterprises involved in the design, construction, maintenance and

repair of ships and other maritime structures, including the complete supply chain of systems, equipment and services

supported by research and educational institutions 30 The geospatial industry consists of individuals, private companies, non-profit organizations, academic and research

institutions, and government agencies that research, develop, manufacture, implement, and employ geospatial technology

(also known as geomatics) and gather, store, integrate, manage, map, analyze, display, and distribute geographic

information — i.e., information that is tied to a particular location on Earth.

(https://metacarta.wordpress.com/2008/08/07/what-is-the-geospatial-industry/).

https://metacarta.wordpress.com/2008/08/07/what-is-the-geospatial-industry/

-16-

All other sectors are eligible under Lot 1 or Lot 2.

The six pilot sectors that are eligible under Lot 3 are not eligible under Lot 1 or Lot 2.

6.2. What is the role of organisations participating in a Sector Skills Alliance?

Applicant/Coordinator: the legal entity that submits the project proposal on behalf of all the

beneficiaries. The coordinator has the full responsibility to ensure that the project is

implemented in accordance with the agreement. Its coordinating role covers among others the

following duties:

represents and acts on behalf of the Consortium towards the European Commission;

bears the financial and legal responsibility for the proper operational, administrative and

financial implementation of the entire project;

coordinates the project in cooperation with all other beneficiaries.

Once the project is selected, the applicant must submit the mandate letters from all

beneficiaries involved in the consortium confirming their participation.

Beneficiaries: legal entities participating in the consortium which contribute actively to the

accomplishment of the Sector Skills Alliance. Each beneficiary must sign a mandate by which

the signatory agrees that the applicant takes over the planned tasks on behalf of the Alliance

during the implementation of the project.

For more information about duties of the applicant and beneficiaries, please see the Articles

II.1.1, II.1.2 and II.1.3 of the Grant agreement model.

Associated partners (optional): Sector Skills Alliances can involve associated partners who

contribute to the activities of the Alliance. They are not subject to contractual requirements

because they do not receive funding. However their involvement and role in the project and

different work packages have to be clearly described.

Affiliated entities: legal entities having a legal or capital link with beneficiaries, which is

neither limited to the action nor established for the sole purpose of its implementation may

take part in the action as affiliated entities.

For that purpose, beneficiaries shall identify such affiliated entities in the application form.

Supporting documents proving the affiliation (legal or capital link), as well as that they

comply with the eligibility and non-exclusion criteria must be submitted.

6.3. What countries are eligible?

Only applications from legal entities established in the following Erasmus + Programme

Countries are eligible:

The Erasmus+ programme countries:

-the 28 Member States of the European Union,

-Non EU Programme Countries: Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iceland,

Liechtenstein, Norway, Turkey.

-17-

6.4. Eligible activities

Please see eligible activities described in Section 2.3.

Activities must start between 1 December 2017 and 31 January 2018.

Applications for projects scheduled to run for a shorter or longer period than that specified in

this call for proposals will not be accepted.

No extensions to the eligibility period beyond the maximum duration will be granted.

However, if after the signing of the agreement and the start of the project it becomes

impossible for the beneficiary, for fully justified reasons beyond their control, to complete the

project within the scheduled period, an extension of the eligibility period may be granted. A

maximum extension of 6 additional months will be granted if requested before the deadline

specified in the agreement. The total awarded grant will not change.

7. EXCLUSION CRITERIA

7.1. Exclusion from participation

An applicant, beneficiary or any affiliated entity will be excluded from participating in calls

for proposals procedure, if it is in any of the following situations:

a) it is bankrupt, subject to insolvency or winding up procedures, its assets are being

administered by a liquidator or by a court, it is in an arrangement with creditors, its

business activities are suspended or it is in any analogous situation arising from a

similar procedure provided for under national legislation or regulations;

b) it has been established by a final judgement or a final administrative decision that the

applicant, beneficiary or any affiliated entity is in breach of its obligations relating to

the payment of taxes or social security contributions in accordance with the law of the

country in which it is established, with those of the country in which the authorising

officer is located or those of the country of the implementation of the grant;

c) it has been established by a final judgement or a final administrative decision that the

applicant, beneficiary or any affiliated entity is guilty of grave professional misconduct

by having violated applicable laws or regulations or ethical standards of the profession

to which the applicant, beneficiary or any affiliated entity belongs, or by having

engaged in any wrongful conduct which has an impact on its professional credibility

where such conduct denotes wrongful intent or gross negligence, including, in

particular, any of the following:

i. fraudulently or negligently misrepresenting information required for the verification

of the absence of grounds for exclusion or the fulfilment of selection criteria or in the

performance of a contract, a grant agreement or a grant decision;

ii. entering into agreement with other persons with the aim of distorting competition;

iii. violating intellectual property rights;

iv. attempting to influence the decision-making process of the Agency during the award

procedure;

v. attempting to obtain confidential information that may confer upon it undue

advantages in the award procedure;

d) it has been established by a final judgement that the applicant, beneficiary or any

affiliated entity is guilty of any of the following:

-18-

i. fraud, within the meaning of Article 1 of the Convention on the protection of the

European Communities' financial interests, drawn up by the Council Act of 26 July

1995;

ii. corruption, as defined in Article 3 of the Convention on the fight against corruption

involving officials of the European Communities or officials of EU Member States,

drawn up by the Council Act of 26 May 1997, and in Article 2(1) of Council

Framework Decision 2003/568/JHA, as well as corruption as defined in the legal

provisions of the country where the authorising officer is located, the country in

which the applicant, beneficiary or any affiliated entity is established or the country

of the implementation of the grant;

iii. participation in a criminal organisation, as defined in Article 2 of Council

Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA;

iv. money laundering or terrorist financing, as defined in Article 1 of Directive

2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council;

v. terrorist-related offences or offences linked to terrorist activities, as defined in

Articles 1 and 3 of Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA, respectively, or

inciting, aiding, abetting or attempting to commit such offences, as referred to in

Article 4 of that Decision;

vi. child labour or other forms of trafficking in human beings as defined in Article 2 of

Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council;

e) it has shown significant deficiencies in complying with the main obligations in the

performance of a contract, a grant agreement or a grant decision financed by the

Union’s budget, which has led to its early termination or to the application of liquidated

damages or other contractual penalties, or which has been discovered following checks,

audits or investigations by an Authorising Officer, OLAF or the Court of Auditors;

f) it has been established by a final judgement or final administrative decision that the

applicant, beneficiary or any affiliated entity has committed an irregularity within the

meaning of Article 1(2) of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95;

g) in the absence of a final judgement or where applicable a final administrative decision,

the applicant, beneficiary or any affiliated entity is in one of the cases provided in (c) to

(f) above based in particular on :

i. facts established in the context of audits or investigations carried out by the Court of

Auditors, OLAF or internal audit, or any other check, audit or control performed

under the responsibility of an authorising officer of an EU institution, of a European

office or of an EU agency or body;

ii. non-final administrative decisions which may include disciplinary measures taken by

the competent supervisory body responsible for the verification of the application of

standards of professional ethics;

iii. decisions of the ECB, the EIB, the European Investment Fund or international

organisations;

iv. decisions of the Commission relating to the infringement of the Union's competition

rules or of a national competent authority relating to the infringement of Union or

national competition law.

v. decisions of exclusion by an authorising officer of an EU institution, of a European

office or of an EU agency or body.

h) where a person who is a member of the administrative, management or supervisory

body of the applicant, beneficiary or any affiliated entity or who has powers of

representation, decision or control with regard to that applicant (this covers the

-19-

company directors, members of the management or supervisory bodies, and cases where

one person holds a majority of shares), is in one or more of the situations referred to in

points (c) to (f) above.

i) where a natural or legal person that assumes unlimited liability for the debts of that

applicant, beneficiary or any affiliated entity is in one or more of the situations referred

to in point (a) or (b) above.

If an applicant, beneficiary or any affiliated entity is in one of the situations of exclusion

listed above, it should indicate the measures it has taken to remedy the exclusion situation,

thus demonstrating its reliability. They may include e.g. technical, organisational and

personnel measures to prevent further occurrence, compensation of damage or payment of

fines. This does not apply for the situations referred in point (d) of this section.

In the cases provided in (c) to (f) above, in the absence of a final judgement or where

applicable a final administrative decision, the Agency may exclude an applicant, beneficiary

or any affiliated entity provisionally from participating in a call for proposals where their

participation would constitute a serious and imminent threat to the Union's financial interests.

7.2. Rejection from the award procedure

An applicant, beneficiary or any affiliated entity will not be awarded a grant for this

procedure if

a) it is in an exclusion situation established in accordance with the above section 7.1;

b) it has misrepresented the information required as a condition for participating in the

procedure or has failed to supply that information;

c) it was previously involved in the preparation of a call for proposals where this entails a

distortion of competition that cannot be remedied otherwise.

The same exclusion criteria apply to affiliated entities.

Rejection from this procedure and administrative sanctions (exclusion or financial penalty)

may be imposed on applicant, beneficiary or any affiliated entity where applicable, if any of

the declarations or information provided as a condition for participating in this procedure

prove to be false.

The applicant, beneficiary or any affiliated entity should be informed that the Agency may

publish on its internet site the following information related to the exclusion and, where

applicable, the financial penalty in the cases referred to in points (c), (d), (e) and (f) of the

section 7.131

:

(a) the name of the applicant, beneficiary or any affiliated entity concerned;

(b) the exclusion situation;

(c) the duration of the exclusion and/or the amount of the financial penalty.

In case of a preliminary classification in law (i.e. absence of a final judgement or a final

administrative decision), the publication shall indicate that there is no final judgement or final

administrative decision. In those cases, information about any appeals by the applicant,

31 This information shall not be published in any of the following circumstances:

(a) where it is necessary to preserve the confidentiality of an investigation or of national judicial proceedings;

(b) where publication would cause disproportionate damage to the applicant, beneficiary or any affiliated entity

concerned or would otherwise be disproportionate on the basis of the proportionality criteria and to the amount of the

financial penalty; (c) where a natural person is concerned, unless the publication of personal data is exceptionally

justified, inter alia, by the seriousness of the conduct or its impact on the Union's financial interests. In such cases, the

decision to publish the information shall duly take into consideration the right to privacy and other rights provided for in

Regulation (EC) No 45/2001.

-20-

beneficiary or any affiliated entity their status and their outcome, as well as any revised

decision of the authorised officer, shall be published without delay. Where a financial penalty

has been imposed, the publication shall also indicate whether that penalty has been paid.

The decision to publish the information is taken by the Agency either following the relevant

final judgement, final administrative decision or preliminary classification in law, as the case

may be. That decision shall take effect three months after its notification to the economic

operator.

The information published shall be removed as soon as the exclusion has come to an end. In

the case of a financial penalty, the publication shall be removed six months after payment of

that penalty.

In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001, where personal data is concerned, the

Agency shall inform the applicant, beneficiary or any affiliated entity of its rights under the

applicable data protection rules and of the procedures available for exercising those rights.

7.3. Supporting documents

Applicants must sign a declaration on their honour certifying that they, and their affiliated

entities, are not in one of the situations referred to in the above sections 7.1 and 7.2, filling in

the relevant form attached to the application form accompanying the call for proposals. If

applicable, the relevant documentary evidence which appropriately illustrates any remedial

measures taken should be provided in annex to this declaration.

The declaration is available at https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/funding/sector-skills-

alliances-2017_en

The following supporting documents will be requested once the project is proposed for

funding. These documents cannot be attached to the online application form and are not

requested at the application stage:

private entity: extract from the official journal, copy of articles of association, extract

of trade or association register, certificate of liability to VAT (if, as in certain countries,

the trade register number and VAT number are identical, only one of these documents is

required),

public entity: copy of the resolution or decision establishing the public company, or

other official document establishing the public-law entity,

consortium: in addition to the supporting documents referring to their legal status,

consortium members will submit letters confirming their participation to the project,

entities without legal personality: documents providing evidence that their

representative(s) have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on their behalf.

affiliated entities: documents (statutes, an equivalent act or consolidated accounts)

proving the affiliation (legal or capital link), as well as that they comply with the

eligibility and non-exclusion criteria.

https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/funding/sector-skills-alliances-2017_en


-21-

8. SELECTION CRITERIA

Applicants must submit a declaration on their honour, completed and signed, attesting to their

financial and operational capacity to complete the proposed activities.

Affiliated entities do not need to be checked against the selection criteria. This check will be

made at the level of the beneficiary to which they are affiliated.

8.1. Financial capacity

Applicants must have stable and sufficient sources of funding to maintain their activity

throughout the period during which the action is being carried out or the year for which the

grant is awarded, and to participate in its funding. The applicants' financial capacity will be

assessed on the basis of the following supporting documents to be submitted with the

application:

a) Low value grants (≤ EUR 60 000):

- a declaration on their honour.

b) Grants > EUR 60 000:

- a declaration on their honour

- the financial statements (including the balance sheet, the profit and loss accounts and

the annexes) of the last two financial years for which the accounts have been closed;

- financial capacity form provided for in the application form, filled in with the

relevant statutory accounting figures, in order to calculate the ratios as detailed in the

form.

c) Grants for an action > EUR 750 000 in addition to the above:

- an audit report produced by an approved external auditor certifying the accounts for

the last financial year available.

In the event of an application grouping several applicants (consortium), the thresholds

mentioned in points a) and b) shall apply to the coordinator while the threshold mentioned in

point c) shall apply to each applicant.

On the basis of the documents submitted, if the RAO considers that financial capacity is not

satisfactory, he may:

- request further information;

- propose a grant agreement without pre-financing;

- propose a grant agreement with a pre-financing paid in instalments;

- propose a grant agreement with a pre-financing covered by a bank guarantee (see

section 11.4 below);

- where applicable, require the joint and several financial liability of all the co-

beneficiaries;

- reject the application.

8.2. Operational capacity

Applicants must have the professional competencies as well as appropriate qualifications

necessary to complete the proposed action. In this respect, applicants have to submit a

declaration on their honour, and, the following supporting documents:

- a description of the profile of the people primarily responsible for managing and

-22-

implementing the operation (accompanied where appropriate, like in the field of

research and education, by a list of relevant publications) within each partner

institution;

- an exhaustive lists of previous projects and activities performed and connected to the

actions to be carried out.

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9. AWARD CRITERIA

Eligible applications/projects will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria:

9.1. Award criteria for Lot 1- Sector Skills Alliances for skills needs identification

Relevance of the

project

(maximum 25

points)

• Link to policy: the proposal contributes to achieving the European objectives in the

field of Skills identification and anticipation;

• Digital skills: extent to which the proposal foresees investigation in the needs of

digital skills. Proposals including this aspect will be considered highly relevant;

• Green skills: extent to which the proposal foresees investigation in the needs of green

skills. Proposals including this aspect will be considered highly relevant;

• Purpose: the proposal is relevant to the objectives of the action, themes and activities

described in section 2;

• Consistency: the objectives are based on a sound needs analysis; they are clearly

defined, realistic and address issues relevant to the participating organisations and to

the action;

• Innovation: the proposal considers state-of-the-art methods and techniques, and leads

to innovative results and solutions;

• European added value: the proposal demonstrates clearly the added value generated

through its trans-nationality.

Quality of the

project design and

implementation

(maximum 30

points)

• Coherence: the overall project design ensures consistency between project objectives,

methodology, activities and budget proposed. The proposal presents a coherent and

comprehensive set of appropriate activities to meet the identified needs and lead to the

expected results;

• Structure: the work programme is clear and intelligible, and covers all phases

(preparation, implementation, exploitation, monitoring, evaluation and dissemination);

• Management: solid management arrangements are foreseen. Timelines, organisation,

tasks and responsibilities are well defined and realistic. The proposal allocates

appropriate resources to each activity;

• Budget: the budget provides for appropriate resources necessary for success, it is

neither overestimated nor underestimated;

• Financial and quality control: control measures (continuous quality evaluation, expert

peer reviews, benchmarking activities, etc.) and quality indicators ensure that the

project implementation is of high quality and cost-efficient. Challenges/risks of the

project are clearly identified and mitigating actions properly addressed. Expert review

processes are planned as an integral part of the project. The Alliance work programme

includes an independent external quality assessment at mid-term and at the end of the

project.

-24-

Quality of the

project team and

the cooperation

arrangements

(maximum 25

points)

• Configuration: the composition of the Alliance is in line with the project objectives,

bringing together as relevant the expertise and competences required in skills

identification and anticipation, skills supply, and skills policy issues more generally.

The partners combine systemic and sector-related information with a solid knowledge

of skills needs and training practices in their economic sector. The participation of

European and/or national social partners with a clear attribution of a role to identify

and anticipate skills needs in the given sector is highly relevant. The

representativeness and expertise of the partners in the sector concerned and at

European level is convincingly demonstrated. The spread and representativeness of

relevant partners over the Programme Countries involved in the Alliance should be

such that the Alliance has high potential for impact in several of the countries covered

by the Alliance (e.g. through the participation of a European sector organisation or

European social partners);

• Commitment: the distribution of responsibilities and tasks is clear, appropriate, and

demonstrates the commitment and active contribution of all participating

organisations in relation to their specific expertise and capacity;

• Tasks: the coordinator shows high quality management and coordination of

transnational networks and leadership in complex environment. Individual tasks are

allocated on the basis of the specific know-how of each partner;

• Collaboration/Team spirit: an effective mechanism is proposed to ensure a good

coordination, decision-making and communication between the participating

organisations, participants and any other relevant stakeholder.

Impact and

dissemination

(maximum 20

points)

• Exploitation: the proposal demonstrates how the outcomes of the Alliance will be used

by the partners and other stakeholders. It provides means to measure exploitation

within project lifetime and after;

• Dissemination: the proposal provides a clear plan for the dissemination of results, and

includes appropriate activities and their timing, tools and channels to ensure that the

results and benefits will be spread effectively to the stakeholders policy makers,

guidance professionals, enterprises and young learners in compulsory education

concerning occupations with high labour market demand or new business creation

potential; within and after the project’s lifetime; the proposal indicates which partners

will be responsible for dissemination and demonstrates the relevant experience that

they have in dissemination activities;

• Impact: the proposal shows societal and economic relevance and outreach. It is likely

to significantly increase partners' capacity to implement relevant training in the

European context. It also provides pertinent measures to monitor progress and assess

the expected impact (short- and long-term);

• Open access32

: If relevant, the proposal describes how the materials, documents and

media produced will be made freely available and promoted through open licences33

and in linked open data format, and does not contain disproportionate limitations;

• Sustainability: the proposal includes appropriate measures and resources to ensure that

the results and benefits achieved by the Alliance will be sustained beyond the project

lifetime. (i.e. how the information on future skills needs can be addressed in the sector

through training provision and curriculum design. This could be VET-based or other

training. The proposal explains how and with which resources (other than EU funds)

this will be done.

32 The beneficiary must publish all educational materials produced with Erasmus+ funding free of charge and under an open

license. 33 A way by which the owner of a work grants permission to everyone to use share and adapt the resource. A licence is

associated to each resource. An open licence is not a transfer of copyrights or Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and the

benefit.

-25-

9.2. Award criteria for Lot 2 - Sector Skills Alliances for design and delivery of VET

Relevance of the

project

(maximum 25

points)

• Link to EU policy and initiatives: the proposal takes into account and contributes to

achieving the European objectives in the field of VET; takes into account and

contributes to give visibility to existing EU tools and initiatives for skills

development; draws on the work of a European Sector Skills Council where relevant;

• VET representation: the Alliance includes partners that adequately represent VET

design and delivery;

• Sector representation: the Alliance includes partners that adequately represent the

sector concerned;

• Digital skills: extent to which the proposal integrates digital skills in the training

content for one, or several related, professional profiles. Proposals including this

aspect will be considered highly relevant;

• Green skills: extent to which the proposal integrates green skills in the training content

for one, or several related, professional profiles. Proposals including this aspect will

be considered highly relevant;


described in section 2;


defined, realistic and address issues relevant to the participating organisations and to

the action;

• Innovation: the proposal considers state-of-the-art methods and techniques, and leads

to innovative results and solutions;


through its trans-nationality.

Quality of the

project design and

implementation

(maximum 30

points)



comprehensive set of appropriate, concrete and practical activities to meet the

identified needs and lead to the expected results;



• Methodology: the proposal is compliant and makes use of EU instruments and tools

related to skills and occupations such as the EQF34

, ECVET35,

EQAVET36

,

Europass37

, EURES38

, Drop 'Pin39

, ESCO40

, etc.. Whenever possible, the proposal

takes into consideration and capitalizes on previous relevant activities (e.g. Member

States initiatives, Knowledge Innovation Communities-KIC of the EIT41

, previous and

on-going Sector Skills Alliances42.

It uses the learning outcomes approach, ECVET

(units of learning outcomes) and quality assurance principles in line with EQAVET;




• Budget: the budget provides for appropriate resources necessary for success, it is

neither overestimated nor underestimated;

• The quality of arrangements for the recognition and validation of participants' learning

outcomes, in line with European transparency and recognition tools and principles;




34 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A32008H0506(01) 35 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1473612465372&uri=CELEX:32009H0708(02) 36 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1473612641346&uri=CELEX:32009H0708(01) 37 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1473612732264&uri=CELEX:32004D2241 38

https://ec.europa.eu/eures/public/homepage 39 https://ec.europa.eu/eures/droppin/en 40 https://ec.europa.eu/esco/portal/home 41 https://eit.europa.eu/activities/innovation-communities 42 http://ec.europa.eu/education/policy/vocational-policy/sector-skills_en.htm

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A32008H0506(01)

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1473612465372&uri=CELEX:32009H0708(02)


http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1473612732264&uri=CELEX:32004D2241

https://ec.europa.eu/eures/public/homepage

https://ec.europa.eu/eures/droppin/en

https://ec.europa.eu/esco/portal/home

https://eit.europa.eu/activities/innovation-communities

http://ec.europa.eu/education/policy/vocational-policy/sector-skills_en.htm

-26-




project.

Quality of the

project team and

the cooperation

arrangements

(maximum 25

points)


bringing together as relevant the expertise and competences required in curriculum

design, qualification standards design , training delivery methodology and training

policy. The representativeness and expertise of the partners in the sector concerned

and at European level is convincingly demonstrated. The partners combine systemic

and sector-related information with a solid knowledge of skills needs and training

practices in their economic sector. The participation of European social partners

and/or national social partners in the countries covered by the Alliance with a clear

attribution of a role to develop the curriculum/a and ensure work-based learning is

highly relevant. The spread and representativeness of relevant partners over the

Programme Countries involved in the Alliance should be such that the Alliance has

high implementation capacity in the countries covered by the Alliance (e.g. through

the participation of a European sector organisation or European social partners). If the

proposal also involves bodies with regulatory function in VET it will be considered

highly relevant;


demonstrates the commitment and active contribution of all participating

organisations in relation to their specific expertise and capacity;







Impact and

dissemination

(maximum 20

points)

• Exploitation: the proposal demonstrates how the outcomes of the Alliance will be used

by the partners and other stakeholders. It provides means to measure exploitation

within project lifetime and after;



results and benefits will be spread effectively to the stakeholders, policy makers,



potential within and after the project’s lifetime; the proposal indicates which partners

will be responsible for dissemination and demonstrates the relevant experience that

they have in dissemination activities;

• Impact: the proposal shows societal and economic relevance and outreach. It includes

partners with a significant role in the sector concerned including in education and

training. It includes measures as well as targets and indicators to monitor progress and

assess the expected impact (short- and long-term); It includes bodies with regulatory

functions (in particular on Qualifications) that are actively involved to ensure the

recognition or certification of the training content the proposal. If a European

sectoral umbrella organisation representing either social partners or the sector

concerned is a full partner, the proposal is considered highly relevant.

• Open access: If relevant, the proposal describes how the materials, documents and

media produced will be made freely available and promoted through open licences

and does not contain disproportionate limitations;

• Sustainability: the proposal explains how the action plan for the roll-out at National

and regional levels will be developed. The proposal includes appropriate measures and

the identification of financial resources (European, national and private) to ensure that

the results and benefits achieved by the Alliance will have a long-term sustainability.

-27-

9.3. Award criteria for Lot 3 - Sector Skills Alliances (Blueprint) for implementing

strategic approaches to sectoral cooperation on skills

Relevance of the

project

(maximum 25

points)

• Link to EU policy and initiatives: the proposal takes into account and contributes to

achieving the European objectives in the field of VET; takes into account and

contributes to give visibility to existing EU tools and initiatives for skills development;

draws on the work of a European Sector Skills Council where relevant;

• Education representation: the Alliance includes partners that adequately represent

education providers;

• Sector representation: the Alliance includes partners that adequately represent the sector

concerned;

• Digital and key-enabling technologies (KETs) skills: extent to which the proposal

integrates these skills in the training content for one, or several related, professional

profiles. Proposals including this aspect will be considered highly relevant;

• Green skills: extent to which the proposal integrates green skills in the training content

for one, or several related, professional profiles. Proposals including this aspect will be

considered highly relevant;


described in section 2. The proposal contributes to building transnational networks and

cooperation tools between relevant stakeholders to adapt education to emerging needs

of the sector's industry;


defined, realistic and address issues relevant to the participating organisations and to the

action;

• Innovation: the proposal considers state-of-the-art methods and techniques, and leads to

innovative results and solutions;


through its trans-nationality;

• Link to existing EU initiatives: the proposal takes into account and contributes to give

visibility to existing EU tools and initiatives for skills development.

Quality of the

project design

and

implementation

(maximum 30

points)



comprehensive set of appropriate, concrete and practical activities to meet the identified

needs and lead to the expected results;



• Methodology: the proposal is compliant and makes use of EU instruments and tools

related to skills and occupations such as the EQF43

, ECVET44,

EQAVET45

, Europass46

,

EURES47

, Drop 'Pin48

, ESCO49

, etc.. Whenever possible, the proposal takes into

consideration and capitalizes on previous relevant activities (e.g. Member States

initiatives, Knowledge Innovation Communities-KIC of the EIT50

, Sector Skills

Alliances51.

It uses the learning outcomes approach, ECVET (units of learning

outcomes) and quality assurance principles in line with EQAVET;




• Budget: the budget provides for appropriate resources necessary for success, it is neither

overestimated nor underestimated;

43 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A32008H0506(01) 44 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1473612465372&uri=CELEX:32009H0708(02) 45 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1473612641346&uri=CELEX:32009H0708(01) 46 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1473612732264&uri=CELEX:32004D2241 47

https://ec.europa.eu/eures/public/homepage 48 https://ec.europa.eu/eures/droppin/en 49 https://ec.europa.eu/esco/portal/home 50 https://eit.europa.eu/activities/innovation-communities 51 http://ec.europa.eu/education/policy/vocational-policy/sector-skills_en.htm

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A32008H0506(01)



http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1473612732264&uri=CELEX:32004D2241

https://ec.europa.eu/eures/public/homepage

https://ec.europa.eu/eures/droppin/en

https://ec.europa.eu/esco/portal/home

https://eit.europa.eu/activities/innovation-communities

http://ec.europa.eu/education/policy/vocational-policy/sector-skills_en.htm

-28-

• The quality of arrangements for the recognition and validation of participants' learning

outcomes, in line with European transparency and recognition tools and principles;







project.

Quality of the

project team

and the

cooperation

arrangements

(maximum 25

points)


bringing together as relevant the expertise and competences required in skills

identification and anticipation, skills supply, curriculum design, qualification standards

design, training delivery methodology and training policy. The partners combine

systemic and sector-related information with a solid knowledge of skills needs and

training practices in their economic sector. The Alliance ensures adequate

representativeness of the whole sector: the representativeness and expertise of the

partners in the sector concerned and at European level is convincingly demonstrated.

The participation of European social partners and/or national social partners in the

countries covered by the Alliance is highly relevant. The geographical spread and

representativeness of relevant partners over the Programme Countries involved in the

Alliance should be such that the Alliance has high implementation capacity in the

countries covered (e.g. through the participation of a European sector organisation

and/or European social partners). If the proposal also involves bodies with regulatory

function in Education and training it will be considered highly relevant;


demonstrates the commitment and active contribution of all participating organisations

in relation to their specific expertise and capacity;







Impact and

dissemination

(maximum 20

points)

• Exploitation: the proposal demonstrates how the outcomes of the Alliance will be rolled

out in the partner countries;



results and benefits will be spread effectively to the stakeholders, policy makers,



potential within and after the project’s lifetime; the proposal indicates which partners

will be responsible for dissemination and demonstrates the relevant experience that they

have in dissemination activities;

• Impact: the proposal shows societal and economic relevance and outreach. It includes

partners with a significant role in the sector concerned including in education and

training. It includes measures as well as targets and indicators to monitor progress and

assess the expected impact (short- and long-term); It includes bodies with regulatory

functions (in particular on Qualifications) that are actively involved to ensure the

recognition or certification of the training content the proposal. If a European sectoral

umbrella organisation representing either social partners or the sector concerned is a

full partner, the proposal is considered highly relevant;

• Open access: If relevant, the proposal describes how the materials, documents and

media produced will be made freely available and promoted through open licences and

in linked open data format, and does not contain disproportionate limitations;

• Sustainability: the proposal explains how the action plan for the roll-out at National and

regional levels will be developed. The proposal includes appropriate measures and the

identification of financial resources (European, national and private) to ensure that the

results and benefits achieved by the Alliance will have a long-term sustainability

beyond the project lifetime.

-29-

9.4. Minimum thresholds for award criteria

To be considered for funding, proposals must score at least 70 points. Furthermore, they must

score minimum 13 points for the categories "relevance of the project" and "quality of the

project team and cooperation arrangements"; 16 points for the category "quality of the project

design and implementation", and 11 points for the category "impact and dissemination".

10. LEGAL COMMITMENTS

In the event of a grant awarded by the Agency, a grant agreement drawn up in euro and

detailing the conditions and level of funding, will be sent to the beneficiary, as well as the

procedure in view to formalise the obligations of the parties.

Agreement:

the 2 copies of the original agreement must be signed first by the beneficiary on behalf

of the consortium and returned to the Agency immediately. The Agency will sign

them last.

Please note that the award of a grant does not establish an entitlement for subsequent years.

11. FINANCIAL PROVISIONS

11.1. General Principles

a) Non-cumulative award

Action grants:

An action may only receive one grant from the EU budget.

In no circumstances shall the same costs be financed twice by the Union budget. To

ensure this, applicants shall indicate in the application form the sources and amounts

of Union funding received or applied for the same action or part of the action or for its

functioning during the same financial year as well as any other funding received or

applied for the same action.

b) Non-retroactivity

No grant may be awarded retrospectively for actions already completed.

Action grants:

A grant may be awarded for an action which has already begun only where the

applicant can demonstrate the need to start the action before the grant agreement is

signed.

In such cases, costs eligible for financing may not have been incurred prior to the date

of submission of the grant application

c) Co-financing

Co-financing means that the resources which are necessary to carry out the action may

not be entirely provided by the EU grant.

Co-financing of the action may take the form of:

the beneficiary's own resources,

income generated by the action,

-30-

financial contributions from third parties.

d) Balanced budget

The balanced budget of the action is to be attached to the application form.

The budget table must be drawn up in euros.

e) Implementation contracts/subcontracting

Where the implementation of the action requires the award of procurement contracts

(implementation contracts), the beneficiary must award the contract to the bid offering

best value for money or the lowest price (as appropriate), avoiding conflicts of

interests and retain the documentation for the event of an audit.

In the event of procurement exceeding € 60 000, the beneficiary must abide by special

rules as referred in the grant agreement annexed to the call. Moreover the beneficiary

is expected to clearly document the tendering procedure and retain the documentation

for the event of an audit.

Entities acting in their capacity of contracting authorities in the meaning of Directive

2014/24/EU52

or contracting entities in the meaning of Directive 2014/25/EU53

shall

abide by the applicable national public procurement rules.

Sub-contracting, i.e. the externalisation of specific tasks or activities which form part

of the action as described in the proposal and which cannot be performed by the

beneficiary itself must satisfy the conditions applicable to any implementation contract

(as specified above) and in addition to them the following conditions:

- it may only cover the implementation of a limited part of the action;

- it must be justified having regard to the nature of the action and what is necessary for

its implementation;

- it must be clearly stated in the proposal or prior written authorisation from the

Agency must be obtained.

f) Financial support to third parties

The applications may not envisage provision of financial support to third parties.

11.2. Funding forms

Financing exclusively in form of lump sums, unit costs and/or flat rate

The principles applying to lump sums, unit costs and /or flat-rate have been established by

way of COMMISSION DECISION C(2013)8550 of 04 December 2013 on "The use of lump

sums, the reimbursement on the basis of unit costs and the flat-rate financing under the

"Erasmus+" Programme"54.

The EU grant is based on the unit costs system. The "unit costs" system is a simplified form

52

Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public procurement and

repealing Directive 2004/18/EC. 53 Directive 2014/25/EU (repealing 2004/17/EC) coordinating the procurement procedures of entities operating in the water,

energy, transport and postal services sectors: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32014L0025 54 http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/more_info/awp/docs/c_2013_8550.pdf

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32014L0025

-31-

of determining the amount of a grant. By its nature, such simplified forms of grants are

contributions to the main costs of a project which are not an exact reimbursement of the real

costs linked to specific activities in the project.

The levels of the unit costs have been established on the basis of the real costs of past

projects, ensuring that the final grant calculated with the unit costs system results in average

to the same level than the final grant calculated on a real costs basis.

As the unit cost system has to cover all costs linked to a project (travel and subsistence,

subcontracting, equipment, etc.), this has been taken into account in the simulations and for

determining the level of the unit costs.

In the case of the Sector Skills Alliances projects, the unit costs established are applied to the

staff component of a project. A grid of four staff categories and four country groups

establishes the unit cost to be applied to a working day of a person in the respective category.

The number of days and the profile of staff involved by country is the basis for the calculation

of the EU contribution.

The single unit cost is multiplied by the number of unit (days) invested in the project to result

in the maximum EU global contribution to the project, thus covering any activity directly

linked to the implementation of the project including: project management, project meetings,

intellectual outputs (such as curricula, pedagogical materials, open educational resources

(OER), IT tools, analyses, studies, etc.), dissemination, participation in events, conferences,

travel etc.

NOTE: The unit cost calculation for any activity and output is solely based on the staff input.

The staff eligible for the calculation is only based on "Number of days" related to permanent,

temporary, and interim staff employed by partner organisations and listed in the detailed

project description (Permanent staff with an employment contract with one of the partner

organisations, Temporary staff with an employment contract with one of the partner

organisations, Interim staff, recruited through a specialised external Agency, Personnel

working on the basis of a contract assimilated to employment by national legislation).

Maximum amount requested

The grant requested is calculated on the basis of the following calculation method:

𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑 = 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑠 ∗ 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑠(𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠) ∗

Preestablished amounts in euro per day

X

Number of eligible units (days)

The amounts depend on: a) professional

profile /employment contract of staff

involved in the project and b) the country of

the organisation implementing the activity.

(for the amounts please check the

following table of scale of Unit costs)

"Number of working days related to the implementation

of the project " In accordance with the chapter 11.2

Professional profile/employment Manager Teacher/ Technician Administrative

-32-

contract of staff

involved in

the project

Country of

the organisation

implementing the activity

Trainer/

Researcher

Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg,

Netherlands, Austria, Sweden,

Liechtenstein, Norway

353 289 228 189

Belgium, Germany, France, Italy,

Finland, United Kingdom, Iceland 336 257 194 157

Czech Republic, Greece, Spain, Cyprus, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia

197 164 122 93

Bulgaria, Estonia, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey

106 88 66 47

The amount requested must be based on the above calculation method taking into account the

maximum grant amount referred to in section 4, in accordance with the activities/deliverables

planned in the application.

The grant amount may not exceed the amount requested. Amounts are indicated in euros. Acceptance of an application by the Executive Agency does not constitute an undertaking to

award a grant equal to the amount requested by the beneficiary.

Calculation of the final grant amount

The final amount of the grant to be awarded to the beneficiary is established after completion

of the action, upon:

- approval of a payment request accompanied by a final report providing details of the

implementation and results of the action;

- verification of the implementation of the activities and/or of the production of the

deliverables planned in the application;

- submission of supporting evidences required by the grant agreement

The final amount of the grant will be determined solely on the basis of the final

implementation report and on the qualitative and quantitative evidence allowing the

verification of the compliance with the conditions defined in the description of the action.

In case of only partial fulfilment of those conditions, the final payment will be prorated for

the effective realization.

For the grant based entirely on unit costs, the final amount of the grant will be determined

after consideration of the final implementation report, if the final amount is less than the

-33-

maximum EU global contribution expressed in terms of absolute value set in the agreement.

Otherwise, for example if the number of units produced or consumed is higher than estimated,

the final amount of the grant will be the maximum EU global contribution set out in the

agreement.

At the reporting stage, the coordinator shall report the number of working days per category

of staff for each of the beneficiaries, including affiliated entities if any, and shall ensure that

all the staff days are:

identifiable and directly linked to eligible activities and which can therefore be booked

to it directly and supported by official documents, with due regard for the conditions

set out above,

the staff category applicable to each person has to be one of the four categories listed

in the application form and related to the professional profile/employment contract of

the person (International Standard Classification of Occupations - ISCO),

related to activity actually realised by the beneficiaries and only the related actual

number of units, consumed or produced, can be claimed for the calculation of the

grant based on unit costs,

actually recorded in their accounts in accordance with the applicable accounting

principles, and respecting the requirements of the applicable tax and social legislation,

incurred by legal entities explicitly mentioned in the list of co-beneficiaries, and

affiliated entities if any,

in accordance with the article 11.2.

11.3. Payment arrangements

A pre-financing payment corresponding to 40 % of the grant amount will be transferred to the

beneficiary within 30 days either of the date when the last of the two parties signs the

agreement, provided all requested guarantees have been received.

A second pre-financing payment of 40 % of the grant amount will be made within 60 days of

receipt by the Agency of the progress report on the action’s implementation. The reporting

period will cover the first 12 months for 2-year projects, the first 18 months for 3-year

projects and the first 24 months for 4-year projects. Supplementary reports may be requested

from 4- year projects. This second pre-financing payment may not be made until at least 70%

of the previous pre-financing payment has been used up. Where the consumption of the

previous pre-financing is less than 70%, the amount of the new pre-financing payment shall

be reduced by the unused amounts of the previous pre-financing.

The Agency will establish the amount of the final payment to be made to the beneficiary on

the basis of the calculation of the final grant amount (see section 11.2 above). If the total of

earlier payments is higher than the final grant amount, the beneficiary will be required to

reimburse the amount paid in excess by the Commission through a recovery order.

-34-

11.4. Pre-financing guarantee

In the event that the applicant's financial capacity is not satisfactory, a pre-financing guarantee

for up to the same amount as the pre-financing may be requested in order to limit the financial

risks linked to the pre-financing payment.

The financial guarantee, in euro, shall be provided by an approved bank or financial

institution established in one of the Member State of the European Union. When the

beneficiary is established in a third country, the authorising officer responsible may agree that

a bank or financial institution established in that third country may provide the guarantee if he

considers that the bank or financial institution offers equivalent security and characteristics as

those offered by a bank or financial institution established in a Member State. Amounts

blocked in bank accounts shall not be accepted as financial guarantees.

The guarantee may be replaced by a joint and several guarantee by a third party or by a joint

guarantee of the beneficiaries of an action who are parties to the same grant agreement.

The guarantee shall be released as the pre-financing is gradually cleared against interim

payments or payments of balances to the beneficiary, in accordance with the conditions laid

down in the grant agreement.

This requirement does not apply to:

public bodies and international organisations under public law established by inter-

governmental agreements, specialised agencies created by such organisations, the

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) or the International Federation of

Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

12. PUBLICITY

12.1. By the beneficiaries

Beneficiaries must clearly acknowledge the European Union’s contribution in all publications

or in conjunction with activities for which the grant is used.

In this respect, beneficiaries are required to give prominence to the name and emblem of the

European Commission on all their publications, posters, programmes and other products

realised under the co-financed project.

To do this they must use the text, the emblem and the disclaimer available at

https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/about-eacea/visual-identity_en.

If this requirement is not fully complied with, the beneficiary’s grant may be reduced in

accordance with the provisions of the grant agreement or grant decision.

12.2. By the Agency and/or the Commission

With the exception of scholarships paid to natural persons and other direct support paid to

natural persons in most need, all information relating to grants awarded in the course of a

financial year shall be published on the Internet site of the European Union institutions no

later than the 30 June of the year following the financial year in which the grants were

awarded.

The Agency and/or the Commission will publish the following information:

name of the beneficiary,

https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/about-eacea/visual-identity_en

-35-

locality of the beneficiary: address of the beneficiary when the latter is a legal person,

region when the beneficiary is a natural person, as defined on NUTS 2 level55

if he/she

is domiciled within the EU or equivalent if domiciled outside EU,

the amount awarded,

nature and purpose of the grant.

Upon a reasoned and duly substantiated request by the beneficiary, the publication shall be

waived if such disclosure risks threatening the rights and freedoms of individuals concerned

as protected by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union or harm the

commercial interests of the beneficiaries.

13. DATA PROTECTION

All personal data (such as names, addresses, CVs, etc.) will be processed in accordance with

Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of

18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal

data by the European Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such

data. 56

Unless marked as optional, the applicant's replies to the questions in the application form are

necessary to evaluate and further process the grant application in accordance with the

specifications of the call for proposals. Personal data will be processed solely for that purpose

by the department or Unit responsible for the Union grant programme concerned (entity

acting as data controller). Personal data may be transferred on a need to know basis to third

parties involved in the evaluation of applications or in the grant management procedure,

without prejudice of transfer to the bodies in charge of monitoring and inspection tasks in

accordance with European Union law. In particular, for the purposes of safeguarding the

financial interests of the Union, personal data may be transferred to internal audit services, to

the European Court of Auditors, to the Financial Irregularities Panel or to the European Anti-

Fraud Office and between authorising officers of the Commission and the executive agencies.

The applicant has the right of access to, and to rectify, the data concerning him or her. For any

question relating to these data, please contact the Controller. Applicants have the right of

recourse to the European Data Protection Supervisor at any time. A detailed Privacy

statement, including contact information, is available on EACEA's website:

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/about/documents/calls_gen_conditions/eacea_grants_privacy_statem

ent.pdf

Applicants and, if they are legal entities, persons who are members of the administrative,

management or supervisory body of that applicant or who have powers of representation,

decision or control with regard to that applicant, or natural or legal persons that assume

unlimited liability for the debts of that applicant, are informed that, their personal data (name,

given name if natural person, address, legal form and name and given name of the persons

with powers of representation, decision-making or control, if legal person) may be registered

in the Early Detection and Exclusion System (EDES) by the Authorising Officer of the

Agency, should they be in one of the situations mentioned in the Regulation (EU, Euratom)

55

European Union Official Journal L39, of 10 February 2007. 56 Official Journal L 8, 12.1.2001.

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/about/documents/calls_gen_conditions/eacea_grants_privacy_statement.pdf

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/about/documents/calls_gen_conditions/eacea_grants_privacy_statement.pdf

-36-

No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on the

financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union and repealing Council Regulation

(EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (OJ L 298 of 26.10.2012, p. 1) as amended by the Regulation

(EU, Euratom) 2015/1929 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 October 2015

(OJ L 286, 30.10.2015, p. 1).

14. PROCEDURE FOR THE SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

14.1. Publication

The call for proposals is being published in the Official Journal of the European Union and on

the Internet site of the EACEA Agency at the following address:


14.2. Registration in the Participant Portal

Before submitting an electronic application, applicants and affiliated entities will have to

register their organisation in the Education, Audiovisual, Culture, Citizenship and

Volunteering Participant Portal and receive a Participant Identification Code (PIC). The PIC

will be requested in the application form.

The Participant Portal is the tool through which all legal and financial information related to

organisations will be managed. Information on how to register can be found in the portal

under the following address:

http://ec.europa.eu/education/participants/portal

The tool also allows applicants to upload different documents related to their organisation.

These documents have to be uploaded once and will not be requested again for subsequent

applications by the same organisation.

Details on the supporting document that need to be uploaded in the portal can be found on the

following link https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/funding/sector-skills-alliances-

2017_en

14.3. Submission of the grant application

Proposals must be submitted in accordance with the admissibility requirements set out under

section 5 and by the deadline set out under section 3.

No modifications to the application are allowed once the deadline for submission has elapsed.

However, if there is a need to clarify certain aspects or for the correction of clerical mistakes,

the Agency may contact the applicant for this purpose during the evaluation process.

Electronic submission

Applicants are requested to log in at https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/funding/sector-

skills-alliances-2017_en and follow the procedure for submitting an application.

14.4. Rules applicable

Regulation (EU, Euratom) N° 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25

October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (OJ L 298,

26.10.2012, p.1) as amended by the Regulation (EU, Euratom) N°1929/2015 of the European

Parliament and of the Council of 28 October 2015 (OJ L 286, 30.10.2015, p. 1).


http://ec.europa.eu/education/participants/portal





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Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) N° 1268/2012 of 29 October 2012 on the rules of

application of Regulation (EU, Euratom) N° 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the

Council of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the

Union (OJ L 362, 31.12.2012, p.1).

Legal basis of the programme: http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-

plus/documents/erasmus-plus-legal-base_en.pdf

14.5. Contacts

In case of questions, please contact:

Vytaute Ezerskiene (Project Manager)

[email protected]

http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/documents/erasmus-plus-legal-base_en.pdf

http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/documents/erasmus-plus-legal-base_en.pdf

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GLOSSARY

Basic skills: reading, mathematics, science & technology knowledge; these skills are included

in the key competences (see below).

Curriculum: inventory of activities related to the design, organisation and planning of an

education or training action, including definition of learning objectives, content, methods

(including assessment) and material, as well as arrangements for training teachers and

trainers.

Enterprise: any undertaking engaged in an economic activity regardless of its size, legal

form or of the economic sector in which it operates.

Key competences: communication in the mother tongue, communication in foreign

languages, competences in science, technology & mathematics (STEM competences), digital

competence, learning to learn, social and civic competences, sense of initiative and

entrepreneurship, cultural awareness and expression.

MOOC: Massive Open Online Course aimed at unlimited participation and open access via

the web. In addition to traditional course materials such as filmed lectures, readings, and

problem sets, many MOOCs provide interactive user forums to support community

interactions among students, professors, and teaching assistants.

Occupational profile: the set of skills, competences, knowledge and qualifications that is

usually relevant for a specific occupation.

Open access: the beneficiary must publish all educational materials produced with Erasmus+

funding free of charge and under an open license.

Open licence: a way by which the owner of a work grants permission to everyone to use

share and adapt the resource. A licence is associated to each resource. An open licence is not a

transfer of copyrights or Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and the benefit.

Qualification: the formal outcome (certificate, diploma or title) of an assessment process

which is obtained when a competent body determines that an individual has achieved learning

outcomes to given standards and/or possesses the necessary competence to do a job in a

specific area of work. A qualification confers official recognition of the value of learning

outcomes in the labour market and in education and training.

Qualification standard: the norms and specifications regulating the award of a certificate or

diploma. They are directly related to occupation standards, education standards and

assessment standards.

Smart specialisation strategies: Smart specialisation is a strategic approach to economic

development through targeted support for research and innovation and was announced in the

'Innovation Union' flagship initiative of the Europe 2020 Strategy as the key action of

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wide_Web

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_set


http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/newsroom/news/research/innovation-union/index_en.cfm

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Cohesion Policy in the field of innovation. The development of "research and innovation

strategies for smart specialisation" was proposed as a pre-condition for countries and regions

availing of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and European Agricultural

Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). The aim is to ensure more effective and efficient

innovation policy strategies at national and regional level to maximise the impact of EU

investment.

Social enterprise: an undertaking, regardless of its legal form, which is not listed on a

regulated market within the meaning of point (14) of Article 4(1) of Directive 2004/39/EC,

and which: 1) in accordance with its articles of association, statutes or any other statutory

document establishing the business, has as its primary objective the achievement of

measurable, positive social impacts rather than generating profit for its owners, members and

stakeholders, where the undertaking: a) provides innovative services or goods which generate

a social return and/or b) employs an innovative method of production of goods or services and

that method of production embodies its social objective; 2) reinvests its profits first and

foremost to achieve its primary objective and has in place predefined procedures and rules for

any circumstances in which profits are distributed to shareholders and owners, in order to

ensure that any distribution of profits does not undermine the primary objective; 3) is

managed in an entrepreneurial, accountable and transparent way, in particular by involving

workers, customers and/or stakeholders affected by its business activities.

Soft or transversal skills are the ability to think critically, to take initiative, to problem

solving and to work collaboratively; these skills are included in the key competences (see

below).

Spill-over effect: the effects of an activity that have spread further than was originally

intended. In economics it means any indirect effect of public expenditure.

VOOC: Vocational Open Online Course. An online course aimed at unlimited participation

and open access via the web. In addition to traditional course materials such as filmed

lectures, readings, and problem sets, VOOC´s may provide interactive user forums to support

community interactions among students, professors, and teaching assistants. It is a form of

Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), but focused on Vocational training tacking into

account the VET teaching and learning particularities.

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/effect

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/activity

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/spread

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/further

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/originally

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/intended

http://www.webster-dictionary.org/definition/any

http://www.webster-dictionary.org/definition/indirect

http://www.webster-dictionary.org/definition/effect

http://www.webster-dictionary.org/definition/of

http://www.webster-dictionary.org/definition/public

http://www.webster-dictionary.org/definition/expenditure

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ANNEXES:

- Application form (Detailed project description and budget table)

- Instructions for the application package

- Grant agreement model

- Progress/final reporting template and Financial statement

- Guidance and request form for amendments

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